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Top Beauty Educators on Inspiration and Ongoing Education

All stylists remember that moment: when the brain said “a-ha,” and every classroom lesson suddenly clicked into place. Behind each luminous occasion is an educator responsible for making it happen. We asked teachers from top beauty brands to share their thoughts on mentorship, inspiration and the importance of ongoing education.

How I Became an Educator: I started by working with Pivot Point in Spain in the late ’80s. After moving to the US, I launched my own Seattle-based salons, where I hired stylists fresh out of beauty school. Education came naturally.

Best Part of Teaching: A lot of people can cut hair—but that’s not how you make money. I love helping students learn that it’s essential to build clientele. Start with one customer who loves what you do, and watch that small base grow.

Recipe for Success: Get good at consultations, referrals, pre-booking, and retail. Invest three to five years to kick off your career.

Best Advice for Grads: Get comfortable with the word “why.” Every time you mix a formula, place a foil or section strands for freehand, you must be able to explain why you’re taking that action. Habits that skip the thinking step make you a stale colorist.

My Favorite Class: Affinage Essentials. I’m a nerd and get truly excited about basic color theory—maybe because students experience “light-bulb moments” where I get to see the pieces suddenly come together. When it clicks, creative possibilities are endless.

Most Challenging Work Aspect: Explaining to TSA why I have heads in my bag.

Recipe for Success: Confidence, which you gain by attending classes throughout the years. And energy, which I get from coffee. My Favorite Class:

Design on the Edge. We play with technique to create current looks in a fraction of the time.

Best Advice for Grads: Be at the salon even when you don’t have clients booked. Watch a hair tutorial, test new styles and products, or post work on social media. You must completely immerse yourself in the world of hair.

Most Challenging Work Aspect: Early call times and flight delays. But once I’m at a show, all those challenges become irrelevant as I get to work with A-Team creatives.

My Favorite Class: The Art of Aquage, which is the blueprint for our products. Students learn to treat hair like a fabric, increasing its pliant strength or transforming texture.

Importance of Ongoing Education: It’s not important—it’s a must. You wouldn’t go to an accountant who’s unfamiliar with new tax laws, and the same goes for our industry. We must constantly keep pace with emerging trends, technology, products, and tools.

Recipe for Success: I didn’t take a true vacation for three years. While my peers partied, I went to every class I could find, came in early, stayed late—and loved every second of that hard work.

Most Challenging Work Aspect: Understanding that we live in an era when most communication is done via a screen. Students are less outwardly expressive in small classroom settings, which can make it tough to read a room.

Most Challenging Work Aspect: Understanding how different people grasp information. One attendee might catch on quickly while another requires in-depth explanation. Some are visual, others are verbal. I work to tailor my message for every participant.

My Favorite Class: CND Master Painter. I enjoy the science-based intelligence and core color theory. It’s an eight-hour class, so I also get to know my attendees.

How I Became an Educator: I launched my career as a hairdresser in London’s trendy West End, training with masters from all over Europe. After coming to the US under Vidal Sassoon, I’ve been able to work as an educator and platform artist. It’s the coolest thing you can do—but you need a creative edge!

Best Advice for Grads: Explore different methods. Trying various techniques demonstrates that you’re bettering skills through education, which keeps clients loyal.

My Favorite Class: The Modern Shag: lessons on how to craft an asymmetrical bob with dynamic color placement and a sexy short look.

Recipe for Success: Get a mentor—or five. Whether for professional or personal growth, mentorship is a beautiful thing. Learn from someone who’s had the experience and can help guide you in the right direction.

Most Challenging Work Aspect: This year, I’ll have 39 weekends of travel under my belt. Airports and airplanes are so chaotic.

Best Part of Teaching: Traveling, exploring new cities and meeting fellow stylists from around the world. It really is a small, tightknit community.

My Favorite Class: Our three-day Certification Class with a focus on the Cold Fusion 5000 machine. It gives stylists experience with our most creative tool so they can address clients’ hair challenges and gain financial benefits.

Importance of Ongoing Education: An old employer used to say, “When you’re green, you grow. When you’re ripe, you rot.” I try to always remain green.

Grant Gunderson, HairMax

How I Became an Educator: I was running the medical side of a hair-restoration clinic, and my job included educating staff and patients on treatment options. It felt great to help people make the right decisions for their care. Teaching evolved gradually.

Best Part of Teaching: Watching students become successful and helping clients reverse hair loss.

Most Challenging Work Aspect: Getting people to understand that they must be compliant with the products they’re using in order to see results.

Why I Became an Educator: Early in my career I started going to shows and seeing educators on stage, and initially I thought, “I want to be that star!” As I grew, I learned that real fulfillment comes from the simple act of sharing experience.

Recipe for Success: It’s 90 percent about showing up every day. Even more important, come with a plan and purpose. It’s amazing the disguises opportunity will wear. Keep eyes open and be present.

Importance of Ongoing Education: I still learn every chance I get, even when teaching, because when we stop learning, we stop growing. When we don’t grow, we wilt.

Recipe for Success: Hard work, hard work, hard work! I said yes to unpaid volunteer gigs for years.

My Favorite Class: Smoothing treatments, because they show how to alter texture without changing hair’s structure. And cutting, because with one hour and one amazing cut, you can change someone’s life.

Best Advice for Grads: Get involved with a salon that offers continued education and assistant programs to consistently nurture growth.

Why I Became an Educator: I realized my work was starting to be admired in the salon. Sometimes when I spoke about how I’d achieved a look, I’d get a blank stare back. I have knowledge in this craft that doesn’t necessarily come naturally to other professionals, and it became important to share it.

Best Part of Teaching: I can’t forget when I asked a question in high school that was perceived as stupid. I never want my students to feel the way that teacher made me feel. When I explain chemistry and technique in hair color, I make it palatable for everyone.

Best Advice for Grads: Never make a promise you can’t keep. You may put in sweat, blood and tears to achieve a color correction, but if you compromise hair integrity in the process, it’s your name you’re jeopardizing.

Recipe for Success: I’m a firm believer in the cliché that everything happens for a reason. I applied more than once for the position I currently hold, and whenever I failed, I knew it just wasn’t my season. The path you’re on may take an unexpected turn, but you can still arrive at your desired destination.

My Favorite Class: Mastering Kenra Color. It’s an in-depth look at the science, schematics and chemistry behind hair color, with segments on the power of a thorough client consultation, plus advanced tips and formulations for gray coverage and blonding.

Best Part of Teaching: I’m new to teaching, having joined the Keratherapy team in spring of 2018, but I love working with people—talking to them, taking care of them, learning about their lives. Everyone is different—just like their hair.

Most Challenging Work Aspect: Trying to change mindsets. Keratin products aren’t just for straightening curls or frizz—a common misconception.

Importance of Ongoing Education: It keeps you motivated. There’s excitement in knowing how to handle situations and consistently get top results.

How I Became an Educator: My husband, Oscar Bond, was already an educator when we met. Traveling and working with him inspired me to do the same.

Most Challenging Work Aspect: Understanding why a student feels frustrated, or not being able to meet expectations.

Best Advice for Grads: Examine the culture of a salon: Does it value teamwork, education, the client experience? If owners don’t care enough to maintain their salon aesthetic, they likely won’t bother with you.

Most Challenging Work Aspect: Constantly multitasking. I like to focus on one thing at a time, yet often I’m pulled in many directions. Being on the road globally while staying present with what’s happening in the States is tough. In fact, I’m writing this as I sit on a plane to Uganda!

My Favorite Class: Hair Mapping, because it provides simple “hair maps” for executing the majority of upstyles, from basic to complicated.

Importance of Ongoing Education: You’re only as good as the people with whom you surround yourself.

Why I Became an Educator: Becoming an educator was my dream since age 17, when I first entered the beauty industry. I’m self-taught, so I wanted to help those who struggled the same way I did early on.

My Favorite Class: The Basics of Balayage, which helps simplify techniques that can feel overwhelming, without compromising end results.

Importance of Ongoing Education: Hair is like medicine—a new discovery seems to happen almost every day!

Why I Became an Educator: I saw Robert Cromeans and Stephanie Kocielski present at IBS New York in the early 2000s, and they were so inspiring. My goal became to partner with a company that loved me back, and pay it forward to the next generation of stylists.

Best Part of Teaching: Figuring out how to be a communications expert. We learn a lot from our interactions with students and guests, and that translates to better relationships with friends and family.

Best Advice for Grads: Always be recruiting. If you see a woman with amazing style, offer her a complimentary blow-dry. Be humble but aggressive.

Recipe for Success: This quote sums it up: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” I’d been doing hair since age 16, but for the longest time I couldn’t find my place in this industry. Pravana feels like family.

My Favorite Class: It’s a tossup between ChormaSilk Color Theory for Beginners, and VIVIDS, which offers a unique hands-on experience.

Importance of Ongoing Education: The day you decide you don’t need continuing education is the day your career ends.

Why I Became an Educator: I recognized a gap in post-license education and proper method instruction, so I launched Repechage in 1980 and opened a skincare academy for continued hands-on training in advanced aesthetics with business-building techniques.

Best Part of Teaching: Being an instructor for over 40 years has allowed me to meet aestheticians from around the world and connect with people who share my passion.

Why I Became an Educator: As a native Brit, I was anxious about being well-received by American audiences during my first Premier Orlando stage appearance. But I sold $60,000 worth of color cosmetics in 10 minutes, and found my calling as an international educator.

Recipe for Success: I’m grateful for my early days as a struggling performer and beauty therapist because they taught me discipline, spirituality and determination.

Most Challenging Work Aspect: Maintaining my own well-being. In order to give my best to others, I must find ways to manage travel stress and sleep deprivation.

How I Became an Educator: While still in beauty school, I discovered I had a knack for sharing information with other students. My instructors encouraged me to seek teaching opportunities with manufacturers.

My Favorite Class: Structure in Motion, the proprietary haircutting system I co-created 20 years ago. It changes how stylists approach both hair design and business.

Best Advice for Grads: Associate with successful, talented people. You can be good, or you can be great; it’s a choice.

Why I Became an Educator: I am someone who has learning disabilities, so throughout my schooling I felt at a disadvantage. I had to work harder and do things differently, until I met that one teacher who hooked me and changed my life.

Recipe for Success: Practice. I own my craft, but I don’t experiment on clients. I never go into a seminar without first thinking through each step.

Most Challenging Work Aspect: Balancing the various learning needs of every student.

My Favorite Class: Color Correction. It forces stylists to bend and flex the imagination. Showing how well the color line performs is consistently eye-opening for pros from different brand backgrounds.

How I Became an Educator: The salon I worked for in 2008 nominated me to host client evening events to promote a new brand. That opportunity opened a path to education.

Best Part of Teaching: It’s like I know this amazing secret, and I want to share it with everyone I meet! I find myself doing it everywhere I go, and most of the time I’m not aware—it’s innate.

Best Advice for Grads: Early in my career, another stylist and I liked to play a game called “Ten Minute Challenge.” We’d find an upstyle in a lookbook and try to quickly recreate it. Use free time and a mannequin to test Instagram styles, which you may not be able to try on clients.